Editor, The Beacon:

I read with interest the letter to the editor submitted by Daniel Vaughen in the Aug. 15- 21 Beacon. Although why anyone would listen to Steve Bannon is beyond my comprehension, that is another matter.

I am writing to address Vaughen’s observations of generational hatred in our country. Indeed, even as a relatively young nation, we too are not immune from the bigotry and intolerance that have been the bane of so many nations. From the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans to the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, the Israelis and Arabs in the Middle East, the Muslims and Hindus in India and Pakistan and so on, the world is full of such examples.

I fear that Mr. Vaughen’s wish for peaceful dialogue will unfortunately remain just that: wishful thinking. “Room for respectful conversation” as he puts it involves a willingness to compromise, something that goes against basic human nature. All successful compromises result in neither party ever getting everything they wanted, leaving long-term mutual feelings of resentment. Ultimately, these festering dissatisfactions will come back to the forefront, often generations later.

As in the example cited by Mr. Vaughen, our own Civil War, how many attempts at “great compromises” were made by the Northern and Southern states in the years leading up to that conflict, all to no avail?

For those interested in the history and background of what led us to that war, I highly recommend the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin for a well-referenced and historically accurate account of those years.

That, 164 years later, we are still a divided nation of people who refuse to let those sentiments go, is a sad testimony to our human nature.

Don Kanfer
DeLand